Escondido Police Nab Alleged Reckless Driver Who Had Cocaine

Police said they were doing one of their regular DUI “saturation patrols” in Escondido on December 2 when they saw a man driving toward them on the wrong side of the street. When police tried to pull him over, the driver “fled at high speed” and ran a red light, according to police lieutenant Tom Albergo. The driver failed to negotiate a turn at the corner of Tulip and Hale streets and went up the curb and into the parking lot of Talone Meat Market.

The collision with the curb blew out the tires on the 1987 black Nissan pickup truck, so the driver abandoned his truck and tried to hide in the parking lot, Lt. Albergo said. Athough officers had an enthusiastic police canine on the scene, the dog was not deployed because officers were able to visually follow the fugitive. Oliveros was booked into custody in the early morning hours of December 3.

Mauricio Oliveros, 21, was brought before a judge in the Vista courthouse on December 8 and pleaded not guilty to two felonies: evading officers with wanton disregard for public safety and possession of cocaine. He denied through a public defender four misdemeanor charges: two DUI charges, driving on a suspended license, and resisting arrest.

Prosecutor Lisa Stark said Oliveros has a prior misdemeanor conviction. Judge Marshall Hockett told Oliveros that if he should bail out of jail he is not to drive for any reason.

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Mauricio Oliveros pleaded guilty on January 6 2012. He admitted cocaine possession and willfully evading a police officer with reckless driving in wanton disregard for the safety of others, and DUI with a blood alcohol level of .21, and a prior DUI. In the plea deal, two charges were dismissed: resisting officers and driving on a suspended license. Oliveros expects to be sentenced to 270 days local jail custody when he is next in court, in March. Posted by Eva Knott.